UBS Group Upgrades Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) to “Buy”

Itaú Unibanco (NYSE:ITUB) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Finviz reports.

ITUB has been the subject of several other reports. HSBC upgraded shares of Itaú Unibanco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $6.80 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. Hsbc Global Res raised Itaú Unibanco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Itaú Unibanco from $8.00 to $7.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.90.

Itaú Unibanco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ITUB opened at $5.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $5.42 and a 200-day moving average of $6.02. Itaú Unibanco has a 12 month low of $4.86 and a 12 month high of $7.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a PE ratio of 6.80, a PEG ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 0.95.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Itaú Unibanco

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ITUB. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Itaú Unibanco by 12,592.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,484,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $156,171,000 after purchasing an additional 23,299,313 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Itaú Unibanco in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,685,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Itaú Unibanco by 200.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,679,311 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,847,000 after buying an additional 5,122,752 shares during the period. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 77.5% during the 2nd quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 7,114,571 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Itaú Unibanco by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 50,587,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $336,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,886,508 shares during the last quarter.

Itaú Unibanco Company Profile

Itaú Unibanco Holding SA offers a range of financial products and services to individuals and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Retail Banking, Wholesale Banking, and Activities with the Market + Corporation. It offers current account; loans; credit and debit cards; investment and commercial banking services; real estate lending services; financing and investment services; economic, financial and brokerage advisory; and leasing and foreign exchange services.